Hermetically sealed package



Oct. 25, 1932. H. E. TQWNSEND HERMETICALLY SEALED PACKAGE Filed Jan. 21, 1928 FIG-5.

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ATTORNEYJ' Patented Oct. 25, 1932 PATENT OFFICE HARRY E. TOWNSEND, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK HERMETICALLY SEALED PACKAGE Application filed January 21, 1928. Serial No. 248,292.

My invention relates to packages, and has speclal reference to packages of the type in which a glass jar, tumbler or other receptacle is closed by a cap, usually of sheet metal,

that is pressed downwardly over the mouth of the receptacle into sealing position on an elastic gasket which is seated on a shoulder spaced :1 distance below the upper end of the receptacle, the cap being held sealed partly or entirely by atmospheric pressure..

Although packages of this description can be cheaply manufactured and can be sealed in a very simple type of vacuum sealing machine, and certain types of packages answer ing to this general description have been extensively used, as such packages have heretofore been made, none of them, so far as I am aware, have been satisfactory in all respects.

The glass ars or other receptacles or packages of this type as commonly used, are not always round, a considerable percentage being slightly out of round or elliptical, and frequently have unlevel gasket seating surfaces. For this reason, it has been a serious problem to provide a package of this type in which the cap, depending upon atmospheric pressure alone to hold it sealed on the receptacle, will suificiently compress the elastic gasket at all pointson the gasket seat to effect a secure seal.

Heretofore, it has been proposed to provide the cap with a gradually flaring skirt, so that as the cap is pushed down to sealing position the gasket is subjected to considerable lateral as well as downward pressure, the cap sliding a considerable distance over the gasket while the lateral compression is being eflected. This necessitated either providing the cap with a deep skirt or locating 40 the gasket very close to the top of the receptacle. Making the skirt of the cap deep,

not only makes it more expensive, but makes it unsuitable to be removed by means of a common bottle opener, and locating the gasket near the top of the receptacle with only a very short vertical wall on which to position the gasket, makes it diflicult to position the gasket on the short vertical portion and increases the danger of accidental displace- ,50 ment both before and during the sealing oper- Cal ation. Whether the skirt of the cap of such a package is long. or short, its lower edge when in sealing position is so far below the gasket seat that it is difficult if not impossible to insert a tool under the skirt and use the gasket seat as a fulcrum to pry the cap off the receptacle. It is quite impossible, also, to remove this type of closure with an ordinary bottle opener because the lower edge of the skirt lies so close to the side wall of' the receptacle as to prevent effective engagement of the opener with the cap. To overcome this difficultyv the skirt is sometimes provided with a rolled edge that can be engaged by an opener, but this, of course, adds to the cost of manufacture, and as this rolled edge projects out from the side of the receptacle, an accidental blow, such as when one package strikes another as the packages are dropped into the pockets of a shipping carton, is liable to unseal the cap.

Packages of the character indicated as heretofore made, could only be sealed in a vacuum sealing machine, and could not, therefore, be used by the housewife for home preserving-nor could she hermetically reseal the package after having once removed the sealing cap.

' Another objectionable feature of packages of this type as heretofore made, is that the caps have a tendency to seat unlevel on the receptacles during the sealing operation, which not only makes the sealed packages unsightly, but tends to make the seal insecure and the stacking of thepackages one on anpther'for display purposes diflicult and unsa e.

The principal object of my invention is to overcome the disadvantages above described of the prior constructions, to the end that a '9 package may be provided which is of simple and cheap construction, which may be easily and securely sealed either by hand or by a simple sealing machine, in which the sealing cap may be easily removed with the use of '05 such implements as can ordinarily be found in a kitchen, and which otherwise meets all the requirements of a satisfactory package of the character indicated.

The several features of the invention, ioo

. whereby this and other objects ma lltl lid

be attained, will be clearly understood rom the following description and accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure l is a side elevation, partly in section, of a package in the form of a tumbler or jar embodying the features of the invention in their preferred form;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail sectional view of the jar shown in Fig. l, but showing the closure in the position it assumes when initially placed over the mouth of the jar;

Fig. 3 is a similar view but showing the closure in sealing position on the mouth of the 11 3 Fig. l is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a bottle opener engaging the closure in position to break the seal;

Fig. 5 is a side view partly in section, of the neck of a bottle sealed in accordance with my invention;

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but showing a pointed tool inserted under the closure for the purpose of breaking the seal and pry,- ing the closure 0d the jar and Fig. 7 is a view similar toFig. 6 but showin the tool in seal breaking position.

y improved package as illustrated in the drawing comprises a glass jar 2, a sheet metal closure or cap a, and an elastic gasket 6.

- The jar is provided with a cylindrical mouthportion 8 of considerable depth, and is further provided, at the bottom of the cylindrical portion, with a very narrow ledge 10 and a downwardly and outwardly sloping annular shoulder or face 12.

The gasket 6, which is substantially rectangularin cross section and is preferabl or slightly greater height than width, is positione on the cylindrical mouth ortion 8 of the jar abuttln the narrow le go 10 as shown in Fig. 2. v T e gasket is made slightly smaller in diameter than the cylindrical mouth portion so as to cause it to tend to hug the mouth portion when placed thereon. The ample depth of the mouth portion permits the gasket to be easily positioned thereon, and reduces to a minimum the chance of acci dental displacement before and during the sealing; operation.

The cap 4 is provided with a depending skirt having a cylindrical crown 14:, an out- Wardl extending portion 16, a downwardly eaten ing portion 18, an outwardly extending 1 portion 20, and a downwardly extending portion 22. The outwardly extending portions 316 and are preferably horizontal, and the downwardl extending portions 18 and 22 are prefera ly cylindrical. The downwardly extending portion 18, and the outwardly extending portion 20, form an annular corner 2% that is referably a right angle. It will be observed tat the crown ll is relatively deep in proportion to the length of the skirt.

en the cap is to be sealed on the jar by reagent means of a vacuum sealing machine, it is first placed over the mouth of the jar so that the outwardly extending portion 20 rests lightly on the outer edge of the gasket as shown in Fig. 2. The jar, with the cap thus initiall positioned thereon, is then placed in the sea ing chamber of the machine, the air exhausted from the jar, the cap pressed down to scaling position by mechanical means, air re-admitted to the sealing chamber to surround the jar, and the mechanical pressure on the cap released. Atmospheric pressure, together with other means to be described, then holds the ca sealed on the jar.

any products, such as hot preserves and peanut butter, can not be sealed in a high vacuum. Also, when sealed jars are passed through a sterilizer, and their contents heated, the vacuum in the jar is considered re-.

duced. In either of these cases the unbalanced pressure available for holding the closure on the jar is much less than full atmospheric pressure, and in fact, may amount to very little. If sealing gaskets were made of pure rubber they would be so elastic that a seal could probably be maintained by atmospheric pressure under most conditions met with in commercial practice, and the shape of the sealing seat of the jar, and the skirt of the cap where it bears on the gasket, would not be of great importance. For certain reasons, however, gaskets are not made of pure rubber. One of these reasons is that such gaskets would be much more expensive, and another is that the oils contained in many food products attack the rubber, so that the less rubber a gasket contains, so lon as it is sui'liciently elastic, the longer it will v malntained in good condition on the jar. Gaskets as commonly used therefore, are far from being as elastic as pure rubber, and in order to obtain satisfactory seals with such gaskets, it is necessary to so form the sealing seat of the jar and the skirt of the closure, that the limited pressure available will have maximum effect. Thisfis particularly true in view of the fact that jars as commercially made are not always round, a, considerable percentage being slightly elliptical, and in order to seal such a ar, the gasket must be 7 sufiiciently compressed at the major axis of the mouth of the jar to permit the cap to be pressed down far enough to efl'ect sealing compression at the minor axis.

In my improved construction the gasket is 7 initially supported against downward pressure at its inner lower corner only, and the cap bears initially on the gasket at its upper outer corner only. Thus at the start of the application 9f sealing pressure to the cap, the resistance to compression ofiered by the gasket is at the upper outer edge and the lower inner edge thereof and, therefore, these two diagonally opposite annular edges or corners arethe initial sealing zones. The initial ref' sistance to distortion at these two zones is so slight, that if the jar is round, only a very slight amount of pressure is required to proslight additional pressure readily distorts the original rectangular cross sectional form of the gasket and forces it down on said face. Under application of continued downward pressure the asket is compressed against the face 12, an the corner 24; of the cap sinks deeply into the gasket. This readily occurs because of the wide spaces above and below the corner 24 into whlch the gasket may be displaced. It will be apparent, therefore, if the jar is round, that under full sealing pressure the gasket is widely spread out between the jar and the cap with sufficient pressure at all points to make a seal, but with the greatest pressure alon an annular zone between the corner 24 o the cap and the sloping shoulder or seat 12 of the jar.

If the jar is not round, the fact that in the sealing operation the cap is pushed a considerable distance downwardly after initially compressing the gasket at said primary sealing zones before the corner 19 meets balancing resistance on the major axis of the jar,

. ensures a secure seal being made on the minor axis even though the corner 24 does not sink as far into the gasket at that point as on the major axis. Thus, one advantage of having initial compression along oppositel disposed narrow annular zones which wi en under continued pressure is that when a jar is out of round, a seal will be ensured along each of these zones on the minor axis of the mouth of the jar before a state of equilibrium is reached on the major axis which would, of course, be where the greatest compression would occur.

It will be noted that as the cap is pressed down to final sealing position a portion of the gasket is squeezed upwardl between the vertical annular portion 18 o the cap and the cylindrical mouth portion 8 of the jar. As this portion of the gasket is under lateral compression only, it offers considerable friction-a1 resistance to displacement of the cap and is, therefore, a material aid to atmospheric pressure in holding the cap sealed on the jar.

As a large percentage of jars as commercially used are not round as above stated, it will be obvious that the crown of a cap used to seal such jars must be large enough in diameter to fit over the major axis of the mouth of-t'he. jar. When, however, a cap somade is used on a jar that is round, the crown of the cap will fit loosely over the mouth of the jar and will frequently not be centered accurately during the sealing operation. This not only tends to prevent the making of a good seal, but causes the cap to be seated unlevel, which makes the stackin cultan unsafe. In my improved package, as illustrated in thedrawing, the crown of the cap is provided with indentations 26 that are adapted to engage the cylindrical mouth of the jar, so that even though the crown of the cap is larger than the cylindrical portion of the jar the cap will be accurately cenof jars for display purposes difii-,

tered by said indentations and thus will be seated level on-the jar.

These indentations also serve the purpose of frictionally holding the closure sealed on the jar independently of atmospheric ,pressure, so that ifa package loses its vacuum after leaving the packing plant, the closure will not be displaced and' the contents spilled over other packages in a packing case.

A further advantage of these indentations is that they afi'ord means for, rescaling a jar after it has been opened by the housewife. The indentations may be closely or widely spaced according to whether a tight or an easy re-seal is desired. If they are closely spaced they will afford sufiicient frictional grip on the mouth of the jar to hold the gasket under sealing compression at all points on the gasket seat. If the indentations are widely spaced, the hold of the cap on the mouth of the jar is so slight that it can be easily removed and replaced on the jar by hand as often as maybe necessary, but will be held sufiiciently to prevent accidental displacement when the closure is usedmerely as a cover.

My improved package is also 'well adapted for the use of home preservers who do not seal in a vacuum. When thus used, the jar is filled with a hot product and the cap pushed down on the jar by hand or by other means I make a seal. The cap is then held in sealing position by the frictional engagement of the indentations 26 with the cylindrical mouth of'the jar. When the contents of the package have cooled sufficiently to produce a partial vacuum, atmospheric pressure aflords additional resistance to the unsealmg of the closure.

Another important advantage of my improvediclosure is that it can be easily removed even when sealed in the highest vacuum. Bottle openers suitable for removing crown caps are to be found in most households, the common types of can openers usually being provided with attachments suitable for this purpose. These openers, however, can only be used with a shallow cap. M improved construction admits of the cap eing made shallow enough to-come Well within the range of these openers without sacrificing any of its other advantages. It will be noted that the gasket seat or face 12 does not extend outwardly as far as the lower edge of the skirt of the drawing. The shoulder 28, which is provided to protect the cap from displacement by an accidental blow on the lower edge of the skirt, is located far enough below the skirt so as not to interfere with the engagement of the opener therewith.

While the cap can be readily removed by the usual opener, as above described, the use of such opener tends to mutilate the cap and render it unfit for re-use. When it is desired to remove the cap without miltilating it, or when a bottle opener is not available, the improved construction already descrlbed admits of such removal being easily accomplished. It will be noted by reference to Fig. 3 of the drawing, that there is a considerable space between the lower. edge of the skirt of the cap and the gasket seat 12, when the cap is in sealing position, and that the gasket seat is a steeply sloping unbroken surface. This makes it possible to easily nsert a suitable tool 30 under the gasket with its point extending to the top of the gasket seat as shown in Fig. 6. In this position the point of the tool is'a considerable distance above the lower edge of the skirt of the cap and, as the skirt flares widely at the bottom, it is also a'considerable distance inwardly from the.lower edge of the skirt, which gives sufficient leverage so that a single upward movement of the tool will pry the cap entirely free from the jar asshown in Fig. 7.: The narrow ledge 10 conveniently provides a fulcrum for thepoint of the tool,

In sealing bottles such as catsup bottles, it has been the universal practice to first seal the bottle with a shallow cap and then to screw a deep. threaded cap on the neck of the bottle, the first cap is necessary to seal the bottle but can not be convenientlynused to reseal or even serve as at protecting cover, and the threaded cap is provided for this purpose. It is, therefore, not only necessary to use two caps on each bottle, but also to perform two capping operations. With the use of my improved construction, however, as illustrated in Fig. 5, the cap will not only seal the bottle, but itis better adapted for the purpose of re-sealing than the threaded cap heretofore used and, of course, only one sealing operation is necessary.

As will be evident to those skilled in the art, my invention permits various modifications without departing from the spirit thereofor the scope of the appended claims.

, What I claim is:

1. The combination of a receptacle having a cylindrical mouth portion and an annular shoulder below the cylindrical portion, an elastic gasket positioned on the annular shoulder, and a closure having a crown portion slightly larger in diameter than the cylindrical mouth of the receptacle and a skirt adapted to compress the gasket on the annular shoulder, the crown of the closure being provided with a plurality of inwardly directed projections for engaging said cylindrical mouth portion above the gasket, said projections insuring uniform engagement of the cup with the gasket'throughout the circumferential len .h thereof.

2. In a package of t e type comprising a receptacle having an open end, a closure adapted to be placed over said open end and having a skirt provided with a portion to cooperate with a portion of the wall of the receptacle to provide a seat for a gasket spaced :1. distance below said open end, the improvement which comprises providing the closure with a plurality of inwardly directed projections above the gasket for frictionally engaging the outer surface of the wall of sad open end when the closure is pressed downwardly over said open end, said projections insuring uniform engagement of the cap with the gasket throughout the circumferential length thereof.

3. In a package comprising a receptacle having a downwardly and outwardly inclined annular face spaced a distance below its upper end, a gasket positioned on said annular face, and a closure having a flaring skirt adapted to compress said gasket on said annular face and seal the package, the lower edge of said skirt when the closure is in sealmg position being below the level of the upper edge of said inclined face and above the level of the lower edge of said face and being spaced from said face to permit the insertion 10f a tool to pry the closure off the receptacle.

4. The combination of a receptacle having a downwardly and outwardly inclined annular face spaced a distance below its open end, a gasket adapted to be passed over the open end of the receptacle to position its an derside adjacent the upper edge of said inclined face, and a cap adapted to be placed over the open end of the receptacle and provided with a depending skirt having an intermediate annular portion stepped outwardly from the upper end portion thereof, and a lower end portion stepped outwardly from said annular portion, the portion of the skirt connecting said two last mentioned portions providing a shoulder for initial engagement with the outer margin of the top side of the gasket so that when the cap is forced downwardly the zone of maximum compression of the gasket is located between said shoulder and said inclined face, and said stepped intermediate and lower end portions of the skirt providing spaces between them and the receptacle into which portions of said gasket are permitted to flow in opposite The combination of a receptacle havin a downwardly inclined annular face space a distance below its open end, a gasket adapted to be passed over the open end of the receptacle to position its underside adjacent the upper edge of said inclined face, and a cap adapted to be placed over the open end of the receptacle and provided with a depending skirt having the upper end portion thereof of slightly greater diameter than the open end of said receptacle, an annular portion stepped outwardly from the lower end of said upper end portion, and a lower end portion stepped outwardly from said annular portion, the portion of the skirt connecting said two last mentioned portions providing a shoulder for initial engagement with the outer margin of the top side of the gasket so that when the cap is forced downwardly the zone of maximum compression of the gasket is located between said shoulder and said inclined face, said stepped intermediate and lower end portions of the skirt providing spaces between them and the receptacle into which portions of said gasket are permitted to flow in opposite directions from said zone of compression, said shoulder being arranged substantially horizontal, and said intermediate and lower end portions being substantially perpendicular thereto.

6. The combination of a receptacle having a downwardly inclined annular face spaced a distance below its open end, a gasket adapted to be passed over the open end of the receptacle to position its underside adjacent the upper edge of said inclined face, and a cap adapted to be placed over the open end of the receptacle and provided with a dending skirt having an intermediate annuarportion, a lower end portion stepped outwardly from the lower end of said intermediate portion, the portion of the skirt connecting said intermediate and said end portions providing a shoulder for initial engagement with the outer margin of the top side of the gasket so that when the cap is forced downwardly the zone of maximum compression of the gasket is located between said shoulder and said inclined face, and the space between said intermediate portion and the receptacle being substantially at least two-thirds of the width of the gasket so as to provide an unrestricted space into which the upper portion of the gasket is permitted to flow. i

7. A sealing cap of the class described having a depending skirt provided with an annular portion spaced a distance from the upper end of the cap and stepped outwardly from the upper end portion thereof, and a lower end portion stepped outwardly from the lower end of said annular portion, the portion of the skirt between said, annular lower portion and said lower end portion forming an annular gasket sealing seat.. I

8. The combination of a receptacle having a downwardly and outwardly inclined annular face spaced a distance below its open end, a gasket adapted to be passed over the open end of the receptacle to position its underside adjacent the upper edge of said inclined face, and a cap adapted to be placed over the open end of the receptacle and provided with a depending skirt having an annular portion spaced below the top of the cap, and a portion at the lower end of said annular portion providing an outwardly projecting shoulder for initial engagement with the outer margin of the top side of the gasket so that when the cap is forced downwardly the zone of maximum compression of the gasket is located between said shoulder and said inclined face, said annular portion of the skirt being spaced outwardly from the receptacle to provide a space into which the upper portion of said gasket is permitted to freely flow from said zone of maximum compres-' sion.

9. In a package comprising a receptacle having a downwardly and outwardly inclined annular face s aced a distance below its upper end, a gasket positioned on said annular face. and a closure having a flaring skirt adapted to compress said gasket on said annular face to seal the package, the lower edge of said skirt when the closure is in sealing position extending a distance below the level of the upper edge of said inclined face and being spaced a distance outwardly from said face to permit the easy insertion of the end of a tool beneath the gasket and into engagement with the upper edge of said inclined face so that said upper edge may serve as a fulcrum for the tool to permit it to be swung upwardly on said fulcrum and exert a lifting force on the lower edge of said skirt to pry the closure off the receptacle.

10. The combination of a receptacle having a cylindrical mouth portion and a downwardly and outwardly inclined annular gasket seat arranged adjacent the lower end of said cylindrical portion, an elastic asket positioned on said annular seat, and a c osure having a crown portion adapted to be positioned over said cylindrical mouth portion and a skirt adapted to compress the gasket on said seat, the crown of the closure being of slightly larger diameter than said cylindrical mouth portion and one of said portions being provided with a plurality of projections for engaging the other part, said rojections insuring uniform engagement 0 the cap with the gasket throughout the circumferential length thereof.

11. Ina package comprising a receptacle of the type having a cylindrical mouth portion and an annular shoulder adja ent the end of said cylindrical mouth portion,

lit

an elastic gasket of narrow width positioned on the annular shoulder, and a shallow closure having a crown portion sli htly larger in diameter than said oylin rical mouth portion and a skirt adapted to engage the outer portion of the gasket and compress the gasket on the annular shoulder, the improvement which consists in one of said portions, the cylindrical mouth portion and the crown of the closure, being provided with a plurality of projections for engaging the other portion, said projections insurin uniform engagement of the closure with the gasket throughout the circumferential length thereof. v

In testimony whereof, I have signed my ,name to this specification this 20th day of January, 1928.

HARRY E. TOWNSEND.

reasons 

